Wheeling-Pitt Lays Off 100 Employees

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, January 16, 2003

Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. has laid off about 100 salaried employees, many of them administrative and support staff.

That makes more than 700 positions cut through attrition and layoffs since the steelmaker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2000.

The previous cuts involved labor and management at a variety of levels. The company now has about 3,800 workers, and no additional cuts are currently planned, spokesman Jim Kosowski said Friday.

President and chief executive James G. Bradley said the reductions are necessary as Wheeling-Pitt tries to reposition itself to remain competitive. The company filed a reorganization plan last month in a Youngstown, Ohio, bankruptcy court.

"Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel is taking a difficult but important step toward changing the way the company operates," Bradley said Friday. "We will make every effort to be among the leaders as the steel industry moves to improve its cost structure through leaner management organization and more competitive labor costs."

The company will work with the United Steelworkers of America to ensure quality and on-time delivery remain priorities, he said.

When LTV Steel in Cleveland filed for bankruptcy and decided it could not restructure, some assets were sold and reopened as International Steel Group. Union workers will vote soon on a new contract that slashes the average wage from $38 to $27 per hour, reduces health care and eliminates pensions.

Bradley predicted the ISG restructuring will become a pattern throughout the industry.